Education as an engine for social change: critical analysis and perspectives in the province of Cotopaxi, Ecuador

Abstract

This article critically analyzes the role of education as a catalyst for transformation and social mobility in the province of Cotopaxi, Ecuador, a region characterized by high rurality, ethnocultural diversity, and persistent structural socioeconomic disparities. The main objective is to examine the correspondence between current pedagogical models, incomplete schooling, and territorial productive dynamics, in contrast to contemporary demands for equity, sustainability, and digital literacy. To this end, a mixed descriptive-analytical and documentary methodological approach was adopted, supported by the triangulation of official socio-educational data (INEC and the Ministry of Education of Ecuador) and a systematic literature review grounded in Freirean critical pedagogy and the ecology of knowledges. The results demonstrate that while formal school coverage has made regulatory progress, marked asymmetries persist between urban and rural environments regarding infrastructure, student retention, access to information technologies, and the contextual relevance of bilingual intercultural curricula. The study concludes that overcoming socioeconomic lag in Cotopaxi requires a paradigmatic reconfiguration toward an open community school model that articulates academic training with food sovereignty, environmental sustainability, and 4.0 techno-pedagogical democratization.